Day one of the 2013 North American International Auto Show has come to a close, and it is time for a quick rest before day two gets fired up with another round of rollouts, debuts, and premieres. Here is a gallery of the bedazzlement that the opening day offered from automakers such as Jeep, Chevrolet, Lincoln, Volkswagen, Hyundai, MINI, Bentley, Honda, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Infiniti, and Maserati.
Kicking things off on the first day of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit were the announcements of Car and Truck of the Year. This year’s honors went to the Ram 1500 for top truck/utility, and the Cadillac ATS was named North American Car of the Year for 2013. The winners were selected by a jury of 49 automotive journalists from the US and Canada, and the awards were handed out during opening ceremonies at the auto show earlier today. To be eligible, vehicles must be all new or substantially changed for the model year being voted on….
We spent this morning at the Ford Rouge Factory. While there, we learned more about the history of the Ford Plant, and we walked through and observed the actual factory floor where they were making the F150 truck. (They build sixty every hour!) It was impressive. On the way out, there was a display of a few classic Fords. There was the original Mustang and the original Thunderbird (gorgeous!!!); they had the original Model A as well. And then there was the beefy (by the standards of its day) V8 … and along with the V8, were two letters from…
We love Cygnett Cases at Gear Diary. They offer a tremendous number of unique styles in a variety of price ranges, and it’s always a treat to see their newest designs. While at CES 2013, we were lucky enough to swing by their booth and get a tour of the highlights on deck for 2013! Some of the graffiti-inspired cases were especially cool looking. I like a case with a pop of color, and having that sort of unusual artwork really makes the cases stand out! You can browse all of Cygnett’s various offerings on their website. Let us know…
I’m here in Detroit with David Goodspeed (boy, does that man know his cars!), thanks to Ford, who brought us out to Motor City for the North American International Auto Show as part of #FordNAIAS. We spent this evening at the Henry Ford Museum, and we were given the opportunity to simply wander the museum on our own. It was nothing short of amazing. As our friend Paul Strauss of The Awesomer put it, it felt as if we were in a sequel to the film Night at the Museum. The Henry Ford Museum truly is an awesome place. If you…
Big news coming out of Detroit a day ahead of the auto show with a couple real head turners making early appearances to get the juices flowing. The biggest is the return of the Corvette Stingray as Chevrolet releases the 2014 Corvette to the world, paying homage to a true classic. In other news, the new Lincoln Motor Company has released images and information on a new entry luxury crossover concept dubbed MKC. 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray The new car will feature the most powerful standard Corvette engine yet at some 450hp and 450 lb. ft. of torque. Chevy says…
As many of you know, I am an avid hunter and outdoorsman. I hunt not only for the sport of it, but also because it is a way to feed my family. I hunt with a compound bow as well as a rifle, both with different goals. With my bow, the goal is to get the game as close as possible enabling a 20-30 yard shot. Conversely, I prefer to shoot at longer ranges with my rifle. Usually 200 yards and up, and to facilitate this I use a scope with a ballistic drop reticle. Basically, there are dots under…
You may have noticed over the years that, unlike many other sites, we don’t give stars or other quantitative scores to the items we review. The reason for this is quite simple: while there may be quantitative aspects to a device review — an example being a laptop that claims to get ten hours of battery life and only gets two hours in real world use deserves a low rating — there is also a highly subjective aspect to any and all electronics. Case in point, I’m not an overly enthusiastic fan of Android. I have had the chance to review…
You may not know the name Luvvitt, but you should. They make affordable, attractive iPhone, iPad, and Samsung cases, plus they’ve branched out into Bluetooth keyboards for the iPad and iPad Mini. I’ve used their Dolce back cover for my iPad 3, and even though I have tested other cases I always come back to the Luvvitt for its simplicity, durability, and style. So when I was walking the floor at CES and saw their booth, I had to stop by and learn more about them — and I am thrilled I did! Their cases are stylish and affordable, and…
If you read the site you’ll know that I am a huge fan of Lifeproof’s cases. I liked the one for my iPhone 4S but the thinner, more refined iPhone 5 case takes things to an entirely new level. Combine that with the amazing experience of using an iPod touch as an underwater video camera thanks to Lifeproof and there should be no doubt that this is one case line worth checking out. That’s why our last few minutes on the floor at CES 2013 were spent speaking to Jonathan Wagner, Lifeproof’s Communications Director. It seems that most every case…
My first day on the CES floor, I saw the Garmin booth. I bypassed the various dedicated GPS units, and headed right for the display of Forerunners in all their glory. Along the way, I was stopped by one of Garmin’s reps, and when I explained how excited I was to see their booth because “I love Garmin!”, he laughed and said “You must be a runner, people always say that because of the Forerunner.” We had a good laugh, and he showed off their various new watches. I was deeply in awe of how much smaller and sleeker each…
At CES this year, we tried our best to get as much video and photos from the booths and floor as possible. There's an overwhelming number of places to visit and products to see, and it's a long and tiring day. Not to mention, the booths are often crowded, schedules are tight, and there's only so much time to get a good shot or steady video. That's where Dan's purchase of the iStabilizer Monopod made our CES run that much smoother. iStabilizer is a simple monopod that extends out a few feet and fits the iPhone in its iStabilizer mount…
I had the privilege of walking the CES floor and trying hard to cover as much as I could for Gear Diary this past week. It was, as you can imagine, absolutely geek heaven. I can’t even count how many smartphone accessories I saw this week, but one common thread stood out among the many mixed styles: if you want a nice case for your phone, buy an iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy S3, or a Note 2. Otherwise, you probably won’t see much case love. Now, seeing iPhone cases everywhere isn’t a big surprise at all. But all week I…
I spent a great deal of time before and during CES checking out the exhibitor list and deciding what companies I wanted to visit. While I didn’t think they were doing anything special, I did note that Barnes and Noble was on the exhibitor list, and made a mental note to drop by and see what they had to say. Apparently, though, B&N is here in their traditional, not technological, capacity. They are here solely to sell Gary Shapiro’s “Ninja Innovation” title (Gary is head of CEA, the company behind CES). No display NOOKs. Not even a brochure. At CES….
Skates go high-tech with the spnKiX Rocket Skates. We saw a woman wearing them on the show floor. They looked neat enough, but then she started moving! Yup, the spnKiX are motorized. More than that, the spnKiX come with a remote control. Now you have a new way to trip, fall and break your leg. Better still, it will cost you just $699 for the privilege. Learn more here.
We’ve reviewed the Braven 600 previously and, yesterday, we spent some hands-on time with the BRV-1. The speaker is rugged, water-resistant, and “built for the outdoors”. 10 hours of playtime thanks to the 1200mAh battery means you’ll get plant of time to listen to tunes on the 5W speakers. And because the BRV-1 is “protected from rainfall, water jets, and water splashing”. It is not, hover, intended to be submersed completely in water. We put the speaker to the test. There’s much more to learn about the $169.99 speaker and that can be accomplished here on the Braven site.
Take one iPad with front-facing camera, one specialty stylus designed to look like a Crayola crayon, and one kid. Mix them together with some special tech sauce and what do you get? The Crayola Light Marker from Griffin. Here’s a video look at the new offering from Griffin. The Crayola Light Marker from Griffin features: Digital marker and free downloadable app for iPad Light Marker uses invisible light to play games and create on your iPad screen without touching it Fun in the dark with free downloadable Light Marker App – 6 activities and and hours of fun. Light Marker…
Company: Rap Pacs Products on Display: Rap Pacs makes cases for the iPad, Kindle, NOOK and other 7in tablets, and various smartphones. Their cases are recycled yoga material with marine-grade plastic pouches to hold devices and provide some protection from the elements. What Caught Our Eye: The iPad and tablet cases were especially interesting, as they offer some protection from sand, water, and other potential dangers without being bulky or requiring the device to be sealed tighter than the Pentagon. While these are not intended to be ultra rugged, they did demo that you could drop an iPad and feel…
ConnecteDevice Ltd, an unpronounceable global tech company, has just announced the worldwide launch of its COOKOO™ connected watches. These designer devices combine standard analog movement with a connected digital display to keep people updated to the happenings on their iOS smartphones. Incoming and missed calls, Facebook notifications, calendar reminder, and more can be mapped to the watch and displayed digitally. Even better, the COOKOO line doesn’t require regular charging. So how does it work? Users must first download the COOKOO App™ (available on the App Store). People can then pick and choose which updates they want to receive on their…
Company: SmartSound Case Products on Display: Cases for the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy Note that have a kickstand that doubles as a channel to naturally amplify sounds without needing a separate powered speaker. Also includes a reflective flash ring for brighter photos. What Caught Our Eye: The cases were very light, and the combination of sound channel and kickstand makes the phones very stable while on display. It was too noisy to test the sound quality, but the build and style looked great!
Company: Golla Bags Products on Display: Golla is at CES with everything from simple phone pouches to device-specific form fitting cases. They also have an extensive line of larger bags, as well as camera pouches and even headphones. What Caught Our Eye: I love Golla bags, and have used their pouches for cameras and other small devices over the years. They are tough, extremely well made, and come in all sorts of cool designs. They have some great cases for the iPhone and iPad (shocking, I know) but they also have expanded their device specific lines to include Samsung, and…